Massa (; ) is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, the administrative centre of the

province of Massa and Carrara The province of Massa-Carrara ( it, provincia di Massa-Carrara) is a province in the Tuscany region of central Italy. It is named after the provincial capital Massa, and Carrara, the other main town in the province. History The province of ...

. It is located in the Frigido River Valley, near the

Alpi Apuane The Apuan Alps ( it, Alpi Apuane) are a mountain range in northern Tuscany, Italy. They are included between the valleys of the Serchio and Magra rivers, and, to the northwest, the Garfagnana and Lunigiana, with a total length of approximately . ...

, from the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

History

Massa is mentioned for the first time in the Tabula Peutingeriana, a 2nd-4th century AD itinerary, with the name ''ad Tabernas frigidas'', referring perhaps to a stage on the Via Aemilia Scauri consular road from Pisa to Luni. From the 15th to the 19th century, Massa was the capital of the independent Principate (later Duchy) of Massa and Carrara, ruled by the Malaspina and

Cybo-Malaspina The House of Cybo, Cibo or Cibei of Italy was the name of an old and influential aristocratic family from Genoa of Greek origin that ruled the Duchy of Massa and Carrara. History They came to the city in the 12th century. In 1528 the Cybos fo ...

families. Massa is the first recorded town in Europe in which the magnetic needle

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

was used in mines to map them and determine the extent of various mine owners' properties. In 1829 the states were inherited by

Francis IV, Duke of Modena Francis IV Joseph Charles Ambrose Stanislaus (Italian: ''Francesco IV Giuseppe Carlo Ambrogio Stanislao d'Asburgo-Este''; 6 October 1779 – 21 January 1846) was Duke of Modena, Reggio, and Mirandola (from 1815), Duke of Massa and Prince of Car ...

. In 1859, during the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

process, it joined the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Geography

Located in south of the province, near the borders with the Province of Lucca, Massa is a coastal town by the

. The municipality borders with Carrara, Fivizzano, Minucciano (LU), Montignoso, Seravezza (LU), Stazzema (LU) and Vagli Sotto (LU).

''Frazioni''

Massa counts several hamlets (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

''): Altagnana, Alteta, Antona, Baita, Bargana, Bergiola, Bondano, Borgo del Ponte, Bozzone, Ca' di Cecco, Caglieglia, Campareccia, Canevara, Capaccola, Casania, , Casone, Castagnara, Castagnetola, Castagnola, Cervara, Cinque Vie, Ciremea, Codupino, Cupido, Forno, La Gioconda, Gotara, Gronda, Grondini, Guadine, Le Iare, Lavacchio, Marina di Massa, Mirteto, Monte Pepe, Ortola, Pariana, Partaccia, Pian della Fioba, Poggi, Poggiolo, Poggioletto, il Ponte, Poveromo, Poveromo Macchie, Pratta, Puliche, Quercioli, Redicesi, Remola, Resceto, Ricortola, Rinchiostra, Rocca, Romagnano, Ronchi, San Carlo Terme, San Cristoforo, San Leonardo, San Lorenzo, Santa Lucia, Il Santo, Sei ponti, Turano, Vergheto, Le Villette, Volpigliano, Zecca.

Economy

The Massa area is of high touristic value and also hosts a concentration of some 600 industrial and craft activities, located within the so-called Apuan Industrial Zone, with a direct employment of more than 7,000 people. Together with the twin town of Carrara, Massa is known for the extraction and production of

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

Government

Main sights

Massa's sights include: * Malaspina castle (15th century), overlooking the city from a hill *

Ducal Palace Several palaces are named Ducal Palace (Italian: ''Palazzo Ducale'' ) because it was the seat or residence of a duke. Notable palaces with the name include: France *Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, Dijon * Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine, Nancy * ...

, Renaissance palace on the Piazza Aranci * The Cathedral *Piazza degli Aranci *Piazza Mercurio *Marina di Massa * Orto Botanico delle Alpi Apuane "Pietro Pellegrini" is a mountain

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

maintained by the city.

Transport

;Buses Consorzio Apuano Trasporti, also known as CAT, was the company that, since 1 January 1969, managed the local public transport by road in the province of

Massa-Carrara The province of Massa-Carrara ( it, provincia di Massa-Carrara) is a province in the Tuscany region of central Italy. It is named after the provincial capital Massa, and Carrara, the other main town in the province. History The province of " ...

. CAT went bankrupt in 2009 and was taken over by Autolinee Toscana Nord ATN. On 1 February 2015 ATN leased its management branch, vehicles, staff and facilities to CTT Nord until the end of the contract for the local public transport of the Tuscany. CTT Nord together with VaiBus in 2017 extended its stay as a concessioner of ATN until 31 December 2019, from 1 January 2020 leased its management branch to

RATP Dev RATP may refer to: Transportation: * RATP Group, or ', a public transport operator based in Paris, France * RATP Iași (), a transit operator responsible for public transportation in Iași, Romania * RATP Ploiești (), a transit operator respons ...

, a company of the French RATP group, awarding the contract for local public transport by road of the Tuscany Region. ;Train

Massa Centro railway station Massa Centro railway station ( it, Stazione di Massa Centro) serves the town and ''comune'' of Massa, Tuscany, Massa, in the Regions of Italy, region of Tuscany, central Italy. Opened in 1862, it forms part of the Pisa–La Spezia–Genoa railway ...

, opened in 1862, forms part of the Pisa–La Spezia–Genoa railway. ;Motorway The city is connected to Autostrada A12 and the national highway " SS 1 Aurelia". ;Airport Massa-Cinquale Airport (

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tarif ...

: QMM,

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

: LILQ) is a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

airport located in the neighboring village of Cinquale. ;Tramway From 1890 to 1932 Massa counted on a railway line from Marina to Forno and, from 1922 to 1975, a monorail serving a marble quarry named

Lizza di Piastreta The Lizza di Piastreta, also known as Monorotaia di Piastreta ("Piastreta Monorail"), was an Italian Industrial railway, industrial monorail serving the Quarry, marble quarry of Piastreta, in the Apuan Alps, and linking it to Renara, in the muni ...

Sister cities

Massa is twinned with: * Bad Kissingen, Germany, since 1960 * Vernon, France, *

Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; hu, Újszandec; yi, Tzanz, צאַנז; sk, Nový Sonč; german: Neu-Sandez) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. It has ...

, Poland, since 2007

References

Sources

External links

Massa official website
* {{Authority control Cities and towns in Tuscany Coastal towns in Tuscany Municipalities of the Province of Massa-Carrara